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[baxiasprice]

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Sexscape Navigator

» Age: 22 » Species: Human Cultivator » A5 Card: Open » Seeking: Allies and those with interesting martial powers to spar with. » Preferences: N/A » Interests: Saber cultivation. Military strategy. » Bio: Sect leader of the Qinghe Nie and one of the primary generals of the Sunshot campaign. Thrust into leadership young, he has had very little life outside of that for the past three years. His seize-the-day approach applies to everything and everyone, particularly when there are mutual sparks. He especially loves to get worked up and worked out.

base code by photosynthesis

NIE MINGJUE

Comments

[unimpeachable]

Sleeping in has never been a Lan trait but at the moment, there's a heavy weight pinning him down and if he's honest with himself, he'd ignore a lot more than their sleeping routine to never lose this feeling, his fingers smoothing over warm skin, a sensation he'd never thought he'd experience again before finding himself in this strange place.

And yet, cursed place or not, it had given him back the one person he'd wanted to see most. Xichen's fingers trace up along the skin over his spine, fingers curling in his hair as he smiles slowly.

"My uncle would have come looking for me long before now if I'd tried this at home."

[baxiasprice]

In his determination to keep Xichen in bed whilst A-Yao went off to do...chores or breakfast or whatever, Mingjue had sprawled with single-minded intensity. He would keep Xichen in bed if he had to break the damn bed. Because this...

He'd never thought he'd ever experience this. Being pressed down overtop of a lover, especially not Xichen, hands wandering up his back to play with his hair. Contentment relaxed his shoulders as he, well, aggressively cuddled. He would get back to the war as soon as he could, but this Xichen having lost him already introduced a terrible hint of reluctance in him. If he had the moment now to simply be with him, he needed to.

Burying his face in Xichen's shoulder, he muttered, "Good thing he's nowhere near us. I don't want us getting out of bed until we have to."

[unimpeachable]

"...It does feel a little strange though." He admits quietly, fingers still sliding through Mingjue's hair, his own eyes closing as his head rests back against the pillow. "I know you have to agree with that." Or at least to some degree, given they're both from complicated points in time. And being busy had helped keep his mind off things.

Like never seeing Mingjue again. But that didn't count here. Xichen turns his head, lips brushing against Mingjue's temple before he just sighs out a breath.

"I'm going to wake up and this isn't going to be real." It's very quiet.

[baxiasprice]

"Of course I agree." Honestly, Mingjue is about ready to agree to anything Xichen wants if he keeps petting him. The fingers in his hair are drawing weeks, months, years of stress out of him and he never wants it to stop. At Xichen's kiss, he responds by nuzzling, lips on Xichen's shoulder and throat, smattering kisses across all the skin he can reach. Because: "Maybe. You don't know it's a dream." But he drops the hint of belligerence after only the moment, and adds much, much more seriously, "So what if it is a dream?"

[unimpeachable]

"...Dreams always end." His eyes close, one hand smoothing over Mingjue's back as the other keeps playing in his hair.

"And it has to be a dream. You're here with me."Even if this isn't the Mingjue he'd seen most recently. it's still the best version of Mingjue he'd have asked for.

[baxiasprice]

"Yes, well." Mingjue doesn't have an answer for that, and he is disgruntled at trying to bother with something a little too much like philosophy while he's all but melting into Xichen's chest. He shifts off Xichen to slide down onto the bed at his side and span his hand across Xichen's ribs, feeling the warmth of his skin. "It doesn't feel like a dream to me." He strokes upward along Xichen's chest to rest a gentle knuckle against the pulse in Xichen's throat. "You don't feel like a dream to me. And I could never had made up any of this nonsense if I dreamt a thousand years."

[unimpeachable]

When Mingjue slides to settle beside him, it means his hands settle back at his sides, eyes closing as those fingers smooth over his skin, his breathing catching at the touch to his throat. "I just want to live with you for the rest of our lives. I'd have given anything to keep you.." His voice breaks slightly before he turns his head to look at Mingjue.

"I never stopped, even after everything changed between us. If you had given me any sign..."

[baxiasprice]

Mingjue lets his forehead thunk against Xichen's shoulder and swears quietly under his breath. They need to talk about this, and fine, he can talk about this. He can be an adult about it, too, even if he is ill-equipped for it. He gropes across Xichen's chest to try and find his hand so he can lace their fingers together. He wants that kind of contact for this, if they are going to speak of themselves as they were when they were younger.

"I am...I was always going to die, Xichen," he says, drawing closer, trying to figure out how to talk about a future that was Xichen's past. "And I am...I was someone whose life's too full of war and the concerns of my sect for anything near what you deserve."

action, somewhere in the UC

[illicitly]

[OOC: Gonna say this is the morning after Huaisang's fight with JGY here since it's before the mingle.]

[First thing in the morning after his latest talk with Jin Guangyao, Huaisang roams through the Unclean Realm in search of Nie Mingjue. His body language is just as nervous as it had been when he was teenager, his expression just as pensive.

He'd made this choice a short while after his brother had appeared in this world but yesterday's talk only set the decision in stone and made it an immediate priority. As soon as he spots Nie Mingjue, he hurries over to him, tugging on his sleeve in the same timid, childish manner he's done all his life.]

Da ge, can we talk? It's really important.

[There's an unusual seriousness and urgency to his tone.]

[baxiasprice]

[Mingjue's need to explore his new territory has meant he hasn't been spending too much time around the Unclean Realm and, for that matter, his strange-older-version little brother. Interaction with him is odd. Not bad. Just odd. Especially when the last time he'd seen him he'd been so young.

To see Huaisang acting similarly young is jarring enough that Mingjue's attention snaps to him.]

What's wrong?

[They're in the training courtyard. It's empty but for Mingjue and Baxia, which he's already holding in one hand. The sparring stance he'd been holding gets shed for immediate alertness.]

[illicitly]

[He hasn't faulted Mingjue for being focused on others. To say that this entire situation is awkward and uncomfortable for him is an understatement. After yesterday, Jin Guangyao forced his hand and Huaisang harbors no small amount of resentment over it. None of it is his brother's fault, though, and it makes this choice even more painful than it already was.]

I've chosen to step down from my position here. The Unclean Realm belongs to you now. ...Again.

[Despite looking like he might burst into tears at any given moment, he managed to keep his voice perfectly calm and steady. As much as he would've liked to have played the role of 'little brother' and maybe had a chance to live as a family again, he's ten years out of practice and Jin Guangyao's presence in their lives has made it clear to Huaisang that this, too, is an unattainable dream.]

[baxiasprice]

[It takes Mingjue a long moment to process that 'what's wrong' isn't necessarily something he's going to be able to hit with a saber. The moment of frozen surprise now past, he props Baxia on his shoulder and he loses his battle-ready tension. He's still alert, though, and the fact that Huaisang looks ready to cry makes his first question:]

Are you okay? [Followed swiftly by:] Why?

[illicitly]

[For a long moment, Huaisang stands there, completely frozen, hands wringing nervously - again, a very familar mannerism from his youth. His lip trembles a little at the simple question. He hadn't really thought this far into what he was going to say, only about all the places he might go after - each of them as far away as humanly possible from Jin Guangyao.]

I need a break, da ge. I've been leading for far too long.

[He's fumbling to find the words. For all his ease at lying to others, he's always hated lying to Nie Mingjue, especially about anything really important. His expression crumples and his finds himself staring down at the ground, shoulders slumping, as meek as he ever was.]

Some things... A lot of things happened and I need some time to myself for a while. I... I can't breathe in here, da ge. Not anymore. I need to go somewhere I can breathe again. At least, for a little bit.

[His eyes are wet as he says this, his face stark white. He doesn't want to leave. Leaving his brother's side is the last thing he wants but Jin Guangyao is forcing his hand. Any other choice will ultimately lead to a disruption of the peace inside these walls, maybe even further across the island. It's taking every ounce of his self-control not to just break down on the spot.]

[baxiasprice]

[Mingjue hates to see Huaisang like this, no matter what form he takes, and the urge to hunt down and destroy whatever is causing this rises steadily with every nervous gesture. Because the answer to 'why' is...not what he expected and he didn't understand it. The idea that one could lead for too long, would willingly set down the mantle when there was still work to be done, snarled in his head like a tangled skein.

But Mingjue's job had always been to shield his little brother and make sure he was prepared for whenever he was forced to take up leadership. Future-Mingjue did a shit job of preparing Hauisang, apparently, if present-Mingjue needed to start over and try again.]

You're not okay.

[He nodded, once, in acquiescence, something sharp and jagged and protective building in his chest. But he doesn't under Huaisang's fumbling words at all. His grip flexes on Baxia, and he tries to frame 'stuff happened, I need to run' into something that makes sense.]

You're injured. This is a tactical retreat.

[The words are growled out. He doesn't reach for Huaisang, even though this is his little brother looking so pale and unhappy, only because Mingjue's firmly on the 'more murdery' side of problem-solving at the moment.]

this tag wound up really long, oops

[illicitly]

[The Nie are the Nie. They have their own tells, their own language, and their own culture. Huaisang's always had an innate talent for reading people and attuning himself to their rhythm. Everyone has their own subtext, their unconscious tells and reveals. They'd been on their own for far too long after their father's death and Huaisang had sacrificed and invested too much of his own life in the aftermath of Jin Guangyao's treachery to simply turn a blind eye and pretend none of it had ever happened, no matter how much his former friend appears to want him to.

He and Jin Guangyao are former friends. How could he easily rush back into friendship with the man who'd destroyed his life and robbed him of his only family? No matter what messy feelings lingered on for the decade and more the pair have known each other or how much part of him wished to return to a time when they weren't enemies.

Huaisang's loyalty to his brother, regardless of form, will always come first. There's no way it cannot after so much blood shed and sacrifice done in his name. But he's still a man of honor and peace, a diplomat if no less ferocious than any other Nie on his battlefield of choice. As sharp and ruthless as his words might be, he'd agreed to a truce with his enemy and intends to honor it to the best of his ability.

At those words, another decision is made, his expression clearing. One that will hopefully help maintain peace in the home that he built with the help of others and only recently returned to himself.]

Yes, I am wounded. It is a tactical retreat.

[He pauses a moment, chewing his lip a moment as he figures out the best way to explain the situation to his brother that will not break the truce while appeasing his own conscience and rapidly growing fear and unease. He's clever and skilled with words, a gift honed even further in the years he's led the Qinghe Nie.]

My comrade and I took mortal blows during an ambush. He fell in battle but I survived. Still bleeding, I engaged in pursuit of the enemy alone and remained on the move for ten years. Eventually, I caught up to him and struck him down. I thought the enemy had been vanquished and the battle was over. But I have found him again in the stronghold. He claims he is no longer a threat and wishes to change but I do not believe him for his crimes are heinous. But in the interest of keeping peace from shattering into war once more... Against what I feel is my better judgment, I have chosen to give him the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to change.

[Huaisang swallows, lifting his gaze to meet Mingjue's directly in a way he'd never quite been able to manage in his youth. His eyes are filled with the tired, sorrowful wisdom born of seeing horrors on a battlefield: a shadow and darkness they'd never held before. The true face of Nie Huaisang he seldom trusts anyone enough to show but if he cannot trust Nie Mingjue, who else can be trusted to do anything?]

It is for the better for both of us if I am not here. But I wish my comrade well and hope he will keep himself safe in the days ahead. I cannot protect him as well as he's protected me in the past but if he calls upon me for aid or just to talk, I will answer him.

[The demon king can rot. He's not letting fear of Jin Guangyao steal away another day of his life.]

\o/ Beautimus (Also MAN this took me a bit to brain a proper response.)

[baxiasprice]

[Something in what Mingjue says makes more of an impact than he anticipates. That shift, from kid-brother to Sect Leader is visible and—Mingjue is not afraid to admit—startling, considering the Huaisang he left behind. His eyes widen and he rocks back on his heels when it happens. What Huaisang says to follow up that shift, however, is alarming, to say the least, and it draws him forward again. Sharply:]

This stronghold? Your enemy is here? And you're relinquishing territory against your better judgement?

[It's not an accusation, but an...honestly rather belligerent request for clarification. A prodigious frown overtakes his face as he hunts for visible wounds in the way Huaisang is holding himself. Though, no, no, already Mingjue had been grasping for something to put his brother's behavior into context, so this is an extension of that. And a summary of a decision that Huaisang obviously had not made lightly, considering his shaky approach. It is Huaisang's prerogative not to pursue further retribution, especially when the matter had already been settled in Nie victory.

But Huaisang meets his eyes and something in Mingjue settles with a quiet thank fuck somewhere deep inside of him, because in meeting his eyes at all now there's Nie steel there beneath the grime of having wading through a brutal task. There was nothing wrong with coming out the other end of conflict blood-spattered and in need of healing. And if he's going to act like a Nie, then Mingjue's going to treat him like Nie and not storm off with Baxia towards the threat.]

Nevermind. [He says that as roughly as he'd snarled the questions he'd wanted answered, but he is subsiding.] As the victor, it's your judgement, whatever judgement that is. We'll deal with the consequences.

[The problem is: Huaisang being cagey as hell. While it isn't out of the question that ten years was after Mingjue's own death by qi deviation, this island is out of the flow of time so that...didn't matter. He lets out his breath.]

Your comrade who fell. They're from a time before they fell?

Video; UN: Lianfang-zun

[taintedpeony]

[The camera comes up, with Jin Guangyao, now Jin Ziyao sitting outside in what looked like a garden. A high stone wall with various plants could be seen behind him. He looked better than the last time Nie Mingjue had seen him. Less frantic and panic, mostly looking calm and composed and actually well-rested.

His hair was pulled up in a high pony tail and he was dressed in modern clothes. He was a little bit anxious to make this call but knew it was important that he touch base with his eldest sworn brother after everything that had happened.

He held a bottle of expensive-looking liquor.]

Hello Da-ge, it has been a little bit. I really do hope that you are doing well. I know that I haven't seen you since the banquet, but I've been busy settling back into my jobs and moving here. I do feel a lot better now. Having a small space that is my own to rest and relax in has been doing me wonders.

I wanted to check-in and see how you were. I also wanted to give you this gift for dealing with me as much as you did.

It was a lot to handle. More than anyone can reasonably be expected to.

I am grateful that you did, so how about this fine wine and dinner to show my appreciation? I would really love to catch up as well. Let me know whenever you are free and we can set up a day to meet and catch up. You did well to leave when you did the party got pretty silly after you had left.

[He wondered if he should ask about Xichen, he was still a bit sore there but he at least wanted to acknowledge him.] Please give my regards to Sect Leader Lan, and I hope that he is having a good recovery as well.

Take care, Da-ge I hope this message finds you well. Let me know if this is something you want to do. It would be good to talk.

[baxiasprice]

[Text (at least to start~)]

You look better. Good. We'll have dinner. Soon. Where?

[He nods in satisfaction at everything properly conveyed and hits send.]

UN: Lianfang-zun: Text

[taintedpeony]

Oh!

Yes, I feel much better. Well, there are several options, we can test out some of the restaurants, the safer bet may be to meet at a park, I'll get together the food for a picnic. We can go to the botanical gardens, if you like, and catch up.

[Somewhere nice and neutral, not the beach or Koi tower, or the Unclean Realms.]

[baxiasprice]

[Mingjue snorts in amusement at the length of the text. After some thought, he decides:]

Park with a picnic. Then gardens. Much to catch up on, I bet.

[taintedpeony]

Most certainly so. I have missed talking to you Mingjue, it will be good to see you, again.

So noon, in front of the park gate? Bring yourself and I have everything else taken care of.

[baxiasprice]

I missed you too. Noon. Meet you there.

[Text -> Action]

[taintedpeony]

Meet you there, fly safe.

[Ziyao laughed at the curt responses, smiling at the memory of the time he was let loose upon the network.

He really did poor Nie Mingjue through a lot, through his own trauma and selfish actions. He had been a good friend and even lover through all of that. And even though their relationship was intrinsically different now, he still wanted to show him his gratitude.

These were the thoughts he was musing over as he got a picnic together, Char Siu, fresh vegetables, spicy fried chicken, and rice. Some of Persephone's baklava for dessert.

With tea in a thermos and two bottles of the very fancy liquor he had bought for this occasion, he was off on Hensheng.

With his new core, he was much faster than he had been in the past and it would barely take any time at all to glide over to the park gate.]

[baxiasprice]

[Mingjue does fly safe, if a bit fast. And he brings himself and little else. The island has become...predictable in its unpredictability. So he drops down into the park to scout around for any of the island nonsense before he circles back around to meet up with A-Yao.

He spots him at the gate to the park and, sheathing Baxia on his back, strides toward him with one hand lifted in greeting.]

A-Yao.

[His greeting is booming, called over probably more of the gap between them than was really necessary, but he closes in quickly after that. As he does, he appraises A-Yao with sharp eyes. He looks better in person, too, not just through video.]

Your retirement has been treating you well.

[He halts with a comfortable armspan between them and offers a rueful smile. Mingjue's smile come a little easier this many months after he'd been pull from the war, but he's well aware that he hasn't truly settled here.]

un: niehuaisang; voice (sometime during week 3 of the attack)

[illicitly]

Da ge?

[His voice sounds timid, small, and fretful and without a visual one might almost be able to pretend that it belongs to a much younger and softer Nie Huaisang. There's much he still needs to discuss with his brother but now is not the time, not with enemies on the battlefield and people he cares about in danger from foolish children.]

You and Xichen-ge must pull back to the Unclean Realm at once. If you are out on the battlefield, you are in danger. The giant statues I told you about are being deployed to attack the hospital.

[There's a long pause as Huaisang tries to swallow down his terror. The mobile suits have been a long-time source of anxiety for him and now he's learning that his fears have been well-founded after all.]

Two of the young pilots are displaying a callous disregard for the lives of those caught in the crossfire. A-Yao and I are attempting to negotiate with them but if it falls through, we'll need a safe place to retreat. Strengthen our defenses the best you can.

I'm on my way to the Unclean Realm now.